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She must have nodded off because the next thing she knew a warm tongue was caressing her fingers and she was woken by an enthusiastic bark of welcome.
‘Oh, hi Binks!’ Millie smiled at the spaniel’s friendly face, her heart performing a swift somersault in anticipation of seeing Zach. But there was no sign of him. ‘How did you get…?’
‘Binks? Binks? Come back here!’
Millie peered over the balcony onto the poolside terrace below the veranda where a woman was patting her knees in an attempt to persuade Binks to return to heel, but he simply stood on the top step, his tongue hanging from his mouth, and ignored her. As tall and willowy as a supermodel, Binks’ new friend shielded her eyes and noticed Millie for the first time.
‘Oh, I’m so sorry for intruding. Is Binks disturbing you?’
‘Not at all. He’s very welcome here. I think he wants a drink, though.’
Millie jumped up from her seat and surreptitiously ran her eyes over her visitor before disappearing into the kitchen to fetch a bowl of water for Binks.
‘Can I offer you a coffee?’ she called over her shoulder. ‘I’ve just made a fresh cafetière.’
‘I’d love one, thanks. I’m Clio, by the way.’
‘Hello, Clio. I’m Amelia.’
Millie paused for a few seconds whilst pouring the milk into a china jug. Sheneverintroduced herself as Amelia, always Millie, but for some reason she had felt the necessity to use her Sunday name in the presence of Zach’s, well… was she his ex-girlfriend or current partner, or maybe even his fiancée?
‘Ah, yes, you’re the cook, aren’t you?’
Clio slumping down into the chair Millie had just vacated and arranged her diaphanous scarlet sundress into perfect folds around her knees. Her appearance was so polished that she could have graced a glamorous photoshoot without any retouching. Every inch of her skin had been professionally bronzed and her short auburn hair had been carefully teased into random waves to give it that “just-tumbled-out-of-bed” look. Millie wondered if that was true. Had Clio just left Zach snoozing in his wooden lodge to take Binks for a quick walk? But Zach was an early riser, so did that mean that…
A spasm of something Millie didn’t want to label shot through her veins. She quickly shoved the disturbing emotion to one side and plastered a smile on her face when she handed Clio her coffee and took a seat across the table from her.
‘I am a cook, yes. But I actually prefer the term chef, although my current job title is cookery course presenter here at the Paradise Cookery School. No doubt Zach told you about Claudia’s horse-riding accident?’
‘Oh yes, Zach tells me everything.’
Clio smiled but the gesture didn’t reach her jade green eyes that had been highlighted with gold eyeliner and the longest false eyelashes Millie had seen. She noticed that whilst Clio fidgeted with the handle of her coffee cup, she resolutely refused to raise it to her lips. As the initial shock of meeting Clio receded, a wave of curiosity rolled over Millie. Whilst she was by no means an expert in the interpretation of body language, it was clear to even the most casual onlooker that her visitor was agitated. Millie wondered when she would get around to spitting out what she had obviously made a special trip to say.
‘I thought I’d let Zach have a lie in this morning. He’s been working far too hard since he arrived in St Lucia. Is it true that he had to help you tidy up andcleanthe kitchen after one of your cookery sessions?’
‘Well…’
‘You know that’s not his job, don’t you? This is a huge plantation to manage, never mind the fact that he’s had to organise and lead the quad bike safari and the treasure hunt – that’s a lot for one guy. Anyway, now I’m here, he won’t have any time to help you out. When are you leaving for the UK?’
Millie was taken aback by the directness of Clio’s conversation. She was being made to feel like a naughty schoolgirl who had taken up too much of her teacher’s time with her antics and was now being told in no uncertain terms that from now on she would have to fend for herself. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She didn’t want to appear rude, but she wasn’t about to let Clio believe that it had been her, or Ella, who had been the instigator of Zach’s invaluable assistance in the kitchen.
‘Actually, I think if you ask Zach, he’ll tell you that there was no coercion involved. He very kindlyofferedto help Ella and I with the clearing up after a very hectic day in the cookery school because of a dreadful incident at the hotel where Imogen’s wonderful wedding cake was destroyed by a fire—’
‘That’s not Zach’s fault, though, is it? And if you’re so busy, how have you found the time for a jaunt to Castries market and wherever else you’ve been? I had to wait ages for Zach to collect me from the airport yesterday because he was busy being your tour guide.’
‘Again, I think you need to have a conversation with Zach about that.’
Millie was about to continue with a self-justifying explanation that on each and every occasion she had been on a trip with Zach, whether it was for a drink at the Purple Parrot, a hike up the Pitons, or a very pleasurable sojourn in the tiny wooden cabin during the daily burst of liquid sunshine, the excursions had been at Zach’s instigation, not hers – especially the zip wire flight at Treetops Adventures! However, it struck her that she had no need to explain anything to Clio who had clearly only turned up on her veranda that morning to wrangle information out of her about Zach’s movements whilst he’d been in the Caribbean, and she had no intention of playing that game.
The air between them crackled with discomfort until Binks returned from drinking his fill and gave Millie’s hand an affectionate lick of thanks.
‘You seem to be rather familiar with Binks?’
Millie smiled at Zach’s faithful canine companion, running her fingers over his smooth coat. ‘I think it’s because he knows there’s always a treat to be found here.’
‘You do know that baked goods are bad for dogs, don’t you?’
‘Of course, I—’
